The Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS, President Lee Jeong-hwan), a government-funded research institute under the Ministry of Science and ICT, invited prominent speakers from various fields related to materials to provide an opportunity to look into future technologies and industries.

The Materials Research Institute will hold the '2022 Materials Korea Forum (MK Forum)' once a month from February 22 to December 20 in the seminar room of the main building of the Korea Materials Research Institute in Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do.

Since 2019, the Korea Institute of Materials Science has been holding the MK Forum every year with the goal of listening to the opinions of prominent figures in the field of future materials technology and securing competitiveness of small and medium-sized businesses through this. Over the past three years, a total of 31 speakers have attended and given lectures on major social issues such as 3D printing, tribology technology, power semiconductors, hydrogen energy, PAV (Personal Air Vehicle), microplastics, and 5G/6G.

This year, on February 22nd, Professor Kim Yeon-sang of the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Seoul National University will give a lecture on the topic of ‘Problem-centered convergence research and research on nano-interface materials’, followed by Director Bang Yoon-hyuk of the Korea Carbon Industry Promotion Agency in April on ‘Solving carbon neutrality with the carbon industry’, Director Lee Jeong-mo of the National Science Museum in Gwacheon in July on ‘Climate crisis and the future of humanity’, and Director Alexander Mihailis of the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramics in Germany in September on ‘Introduction to the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramics and Korea-Germany cooperation plans’, and a total of 11 speakers are scheduled to attend by the end of the year to continue in-depth lectures and discussions on various material technology-related topics such as carbon neutrality, artificial intelligence (AI), defense R&D, climate crisis, hydrogen economy, and big data.

Director Lee Jeong-hwan of the Materials Research Institute said, “The importance of research on original materials technology is increasingly emphasized in the face of various social crises, such as Japan’s export restrictions on our country, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the climate crisis,” adding, “I hope that the future materials technology discussion forum that the Materials Research Institute prepares every year will be the key to unlocking the answer.”